1
as in incomplete
lacking some necessary part
a diet deficient in calcium can lead to weak bones
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard
woefully deficient eyesight kept him out of military service
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lacking
not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need
too deficient in common sense to be trusted to stay by himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deficient
At least nine judges in West Texas and New Mexico have found the prosecutions legally deficient.
—
Agnel Philip, ProPublica, 16 Mar. 2026
Drummond asked the court to order the board to issue a new rejection letter detailing all of the reasons the proposal was deficient.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2026
Yet users find forest maps deficient, trail signs dilapidated, campgrounds closed and information scarce.
—Evan Mills, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
The city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, or DOTI, was seen as most deficient among operators and brokers.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deficient
Agnel Philip, ProPublica, 16 Mar. 2026
Drummond asked the court to order the board to issue a new rejection letter detailing all of the reasons the proposal was deficient.
—Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2026
Yet users find forest maps deficient, trail signs dilapidated, campgrounds closed and information scarce.
—Evan Mills, Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2026
The city’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, or DOTI, was seen as most deficient among operators and brokers.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deficient
Adjective
-
Many debt collection cases involve errors, expired statutes of limitations or debts that have already been sold and resold to the point where documentation is incomplete.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
If the knowledge that defines an organization’s experience is inaccessible or lost entirely, those systems will produce incomplete, generic intelligence.—
Jason Dressel,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Even in the absence of any proven crime committed by Tisch, even in the naivest retelling or understanding of Tisch’s correspondences with Epstein, his unacceptable relationship with this man deserves censure.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Artemis has been trudging along at a once-every-three-years flight rate, which Isaacman deems unacceptable.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
But the upper frequencies are still slightly lacking.—
Mark Knapp,
PC Magazine,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Loro Parque, a zoo on the island of Tenerife, offers a clean and safe environment, expert care and proper mental and social stimulation that Wikie and Keijo are desperately lacking.—
Valerie Greene,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If that doesn't open your eyes in law enforcement, something's wrong with you.—
Lauren Clark,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Both assumptions are increasingly wrong.—
Brian Barlow,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In April 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns organized a student strike to protest the shabby conditions and inadequate education at her segregated Black high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia.—
Jonathan Entin,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
-
But House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford blasted the Democratic proposal as inadequate in a state with many needs.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Serious Medical and Emotional Neglect Turner said Kaiko arrived in poor health, suffering from multiple medical issues and signs of prolonged neglect.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The city of Plano scores restaurants on a 100-point system, with 100 considered a perfect score and 70 extremely poor.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The fact that the President is now signalling a messy retreat has nothing to do with insufficient lethality and everything to do with politics—in particular, the alarm in the global oil markets and the American public’s widespread opposition to the war.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Eric Lampkin-Scarborough, 19, was arrested for insufficient bonds related to a felony weapon charge and a misdemeanor evading arrest charge.—
Briauna Brown,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But large-scale remedies, such as finding alternative sources of revenue like a general tax increase to offset property tax cuts, are less likely when lawmakers and Pritzker are seeking reelection — though political pressures are lessened after the November general election in a lame-duck session.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
-
This struck me as heartbreakingly lame and, therefore, as a moment of vital consequence.—
Amanda Peet,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deficient. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
